Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson looks over the defense at the snap Saturday the first half of the Fighting Irish's game at Boston College. / Mark L. Baer, US Presswire

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. â?? They have won with legendary goal-line stands, been helped by controversial calls and needed their opponents to miss short field goals. They have risen to the occasion on the road, come from behind in the fourth quarter at home and been as consistently good on defense as any team in the country.

And 10 games into the season, nobody has any clue what to make of Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish beat Boston College on Saturday night, 21-6, in much the same methodical fashion they had beaten their previous nine opponents, doing just enough to win but almost nothing more. Week after week for Notre Dame, the script seems to be the same. The only thing that changes is the degree of drama.

There wasn't much of it here at Alumni Stadium because Boston College (2-8) just isn't very good, and the only real question was whether the Irish would assert some dominance for the sake of style points, something this team has in short supply.

But for No. 4 Notre Dame, the narrative is the same in Week 10 as it was back on Sept. 8 when it held off Purdue, 20-17. If style points matter, the Irish won't play for the national title. If they're one of two undefeated teams left on Dec. 1, they will. It's really that simple, and it's too late to do anything about it now but beat Wake Forest, beat Southern Cal and hope that a season full of gifts brings one more.

"We can't worry about those things," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "We have to focus what we can do. If people don't like us winning, I don't know what else to tell you."

For all the college football fans who like to say that Notre Dame is nothing more than a product of the media machine, the reality is that the Irish will not be helped this season by their tradition or their television ratings. Not only do they need to win, they need the teams in front of them to lose or else they will join the likes of 2004 Auburn and 2009 Cincinnati, teams that went unbeaten but never got a chance to play for the national title.

That's why the biggest development here Saturday wasn't Everett Golson's maturation as a quarterback or the Irish keeping Boston College out of the end zone. It was about an hour before kickoff, when No. 1 Alabama lost to Texas A&M, which should move Notre Dame up to No. 3 when the BCS standings are released Sunday.

"We had our minds focused on what we had to get done," cornerback Bennett Jackson said. "We really weren't too concerned about (Alabama)."

But Alabama's loss has changed almost everything. Instead of needing two teams in front of them to lose, now the Irish need just one. At this point in the season, that's huge, and it's probably Notre Dame's only hope of playing in Miami.

Though nobody can criticize the schedule â?? the Irish play 10 BCS conference teams, plus BYU and Navy â?? there isn't much this team can do to satisfy its legion of doubters. It plays close games almost every week. It seems incapable of blowing anyone out. And as impressive as it was to go beat Oklahoma in Norman on Oct. 27, voters see Notre Dame as a flawed team that has needed a lot of luck to beat the likes of Stanford and Pitt in three overtimes.

That's fine if there are only two unbeaten teams at the end of the season. Nobody should complain if that's the way the Irish end up playing for the title.

But if there are choices, then the beauty pageant matters. And games like Saturday won't win any votes.

Notre Dame was in control the whole time but only got clear separation when Golson found receiver John Goodman for an 18-yard touchdown on the first possession of the third quarter, stretching the lead to 21-3.

Golson was efficient, accounting for 200 yards passing and 39 yards rushing while leading Notre Dame to 10 straight third-down conversions to start the game. The Irish only had one real moment of stress, when running back Theo Riddick fumbled with 12:13 remaining, but its defense came up with a fourth-down stop to preserve a 21-6 lead with 9:32 to go. Not overly impressive, but not a scare, either .

"We don't really have time to concern ourselves with other games because if we lose, then it's all out the window," Riddick said. "It is what it is."

And what it is for Notre Dame remains the same: Go 12-0, hope either Oregon or Kansas State loses or spend a lifetime wondering what might have been. There's no in-between now.

"I think for me, I would be kind of disappointed," Golson said when asked about the possibility of going undefeated but being shut out of the championship game. "I'd still be happy with the team's success and the character of the team and how we went about things."

Things have fallen in Notre Dame's direction at every turn this season, and now just three teams remain undefeated. Whether the Irish are really one of the two best teams in the country doesn't matter now. The only question is whether they have one more lucky break coming their way.